Saturday, January 10, 2009

Sea Kittens???

I used to think that the animal rights group, PETA, was the most wacky of the wacky-extremist-fringe groups; then came Code Pink and I was certain they were the most bizarre group out there....but I think that PETA just surged to the front of my "wacky-list."

PETA sent a letter to the Principal of Spearfish High School, located in Spearfish, South Dakota, asking the school to change its name to "Sea Kitten High School." Absurd? You bettcha! This craziness is a part of PETA's attempt to get school children to recognize that fish (a.k.a. sea kittens) are "individuals" and have "friendships" like cats and dogs do. Apparently PETA doesn't want us to kill fish for either food or sport. A PETA spokeskitten explained, "We want people to realize that more fish are killed each year than all animals combined. They don’t have the sympathy of more popular animals like cats and dogs." I'm sorry, but sympathy for fish??? It's crazy! The high school's name comes from the town where it's located and does not advocate killing (or spearing) fish. Can anything be more wacky than PETA's request that the high school change it's name; except for sending a similar letter to the high school at Whitefish, Montana.

Now I gotta agree with the Whitefish Principal, who planted his tongue firmly in his cheek and suggested that the entire town of Whitefish change its name, but to "White Kitten" instead of "Sea Kitten." After all, the Principal explained, Whitefish is pretty far from the coast. He said, “White Kitten High School, the White Kitten City Council, the White Kitten Fire Department – it has a certain ring to it, don’t you think?” If you used the politically incorrect old name of "Whitefish" the Principal explained you could be "arrested by the White Kitten Police Department, and taken to the White Kitten Jail, where you’ll be treated with soft, furry paws and a purr of compassion.” The Principal also thought that the name change would bring in tourist business, "maybe we’ll get the National Federation of Sea Kittens. The fur will be flying, and they’ll have scratching post exhibits. But," the Principal warned, “we’re going to have to bring in lots and lots of litter boxes.”

I think litter boxes would be the best place to file these two requests! Read the story in the Rapid City Journal.